CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage found itself trailing double digits in the second half before rallying in the fourth quarter to take the lead back only to see Harrisonville regain the advantage with less than 90 seconds to play on the way to a 72-67 win on Saturday.
“I told our guys that we are close,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “We are right there. We keep telling them it is going to happen, and I think they understand. They are frustrated, but they understand that good things are coming for this basketball team.
“We played 32 extremely hard, competitive minutes last night against Nevada. And again, we played 32 hard, competitive minutes today. We just came up short. We missed some shots late. I think we were fighting for 32 minutes, but I think we had some guys running on fumes at the end unfortunately.”
The game opened with each team trading baskets, and it wasn’t until the midway point of the opening period when Harrisonville put together the game’s first surge. After Carthage’s Justin Ray knocked down a bucket to give the Tigers their first lead, 9-8, the Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run fueled by five points from Brooks Langrehr to take a 16-9 lead, which prompted a timeout from Coach Morris.
“I told them we have seen their best, but we hadn’t played well yet,” Morris said. “I told them good things were coming. … This group is able to answer and bounce back from adversity, and that part I am proud of.”
After going into the second period trailing 20-15, the Tigers (6-12) cut the lead to 26-24 on a 3-pointer from Ray at the 3:08 mark. Ray’s triple ignited a 13-4 run to close the first half with a 34-30.
“To start the game, they did not defend our two bigs,” Morris said of this difference between his team’s play in the first and second quarters. “They were taking away our three guards, so I challenged our two posts — Caden and Silas — to take offense to that. We executed some sets and set some good screens for our scorers and really answered the bell right there.”
Ray accounted for five points during the run, while Silas Templeman used a three-point play to give Carthage the 29-28 lead before adding another basket inside. Max Templeman finished out the run splashing a 3-ball from the corner.
“There are moments when Justin can be better defensively, and I think he knows that,” Morris said of his freshman guard’s play. “He took a challenge with their point guard tonight and really, really battled with that kid. If we get that young man engaged on both ends (like today), we are going to have a fun four years with Justin Ray.”
The Wildcats (10-6) wasted little time in the second half taking back the momentum, scoring the first 12 points of the third quarter to regain the lead, 42-34, with 5:11 on the clock. Langrehr and Billy Bottcher started the run with inside scores before Kennedy Atkinson knocked down a turnaround jumper in the paint. Conner Blixt added a 3-pointer and Kobe Norris finished off the surge with a three-point play.
“We didn’t double the post like we were supposed to,” Morris said of Harrisonville’s start to the second half. “They really executed some sets there and took advantage.”
Carthage trailed by as many as 11 in the period before Ray drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring Carthage within single digits of the lead to start the fourth, 51-43.
Down seven early in the final period, Carthage scored 10 unanswered points to once again retake the lead. Max Templeman had four points in the run before Clay Kinder knocked down a trey from the corner with 5:30 to play to bring the Tigers all the way back with a 55-53 lead.
“I told our guys that I am really happy with our community,” Morris said. “You can tell how hard our kids played by how the crowd cheered for these guys. They saw the effort and intensity that our group showed. That means something to Carthage basketball now.”
Both teams exchanged scores with Carthage clinging to a one-possession lead before Harrisonville scored six straight points, building the lead to 67-63 with 35.6 seconds remaining on two free throws from Langrehr.
Ray converted on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3.3 ticks remaining to bring the game to one possession, 70-67, but a Langrehr free throw with 1.1 seconds left in regulation sealed the win for the Wildcats.
“I told our guys we have to start and end every quarter like it’s a two-point game,” Morris said. “At times, I think we fail to be locked in at the start and end of every quarter. That comes with the inexperience.”
SCORING LEADERS
Ray led Carthage and tied for the game-high scoring mark with 25 points, while Max Templeman finished with 19 points. Joel Pugh scored 10 and Silas Templeman added nine.
Langrehr led the Wildcats with 25 points, while Norris and Blixt finished with 12 each.
UP NEXT
Carthage is at Joplin on Tuesday.
